Embedded and firmware salary in the San Francisco Bay Area
25 embedded and firmware roles in the San Francisco Bay Area, from 10 employers and posted Oct 21–26, 2026, list a yearly salary range. The median bottom of those ranges is $152K and the median top is $250K. The middle half of the bottoms runs from $125K to $167K, and the middle half of the tops from $224K to $288K.
These are the ranges employers published in their own postings. They are not offers, not what people are paid and not a market average. Of the 30 embedded and firmware roles in the San Francisco Bay Area RoleWeek lists, 25 are counted here. Roles of every level are counted together and shown apart under By level. Data as of .
How the posted ranges spread
| Measure | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom of the posted range | $125K | $152K | $167K |
| Top of the posted range | $224K | $250K | $288K |
Not counted: 3 roles list no salary and 2 list pay by the hour. Pay by the hour, week or month is never converted or mixed with yearly ranges, and each page uses one currency.
By level
| Level | Roles | Bottom of range median, middle half | Top of range median, middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | 12 | $152K $151K–$176K | $268K $221K–$288K |
Level is RoleWeek’s reading of each posting. A level with fewer than 10 roles that list a yearly range is left out.
Roles that list a yearly salary
Showing 24 of 25, newest first. Show all embedded and firmware roles in the San Francisco Bay Area that list a salary
Senior AI-Native Systems Software Engineer, TensorRT
NVIDIASanta Clara, CA$152K–$287.5K/yrC++LLMs4+ yrsEmbedded Systems Engineer, Robotics
DexmateFremontOn-site$100K–$300K/yrLinuxRTOS3+ yrsFirmware Release & Test Automation Engineer
VerkadaSan Mateo, CAHybrid$125K–$260K/yrLinuxRTOSNo account needed3+ yrsBacked by General CatalystSenior Embedded Software Test Engineer
Lockheed MartinSunnyvale, Littleton +1On-site$98.1K–$182.1K/yrPythonC++Sr Embedded Engineer, Vehicle Diagnostics and Monitoring
UberSunnyvale, CA$180K–$200K/yrLinuxC++No account needed7+ yrsEmbedded Software Engineer, Laser Mesh Routing (Starlink)
SpaceXPalo Alto, Redmond +1$125K–$200K/yrLinuxLinux KernelNo account needed2+ yrsSenior Embedded Firmware Engineer
ZiplineSouth San Francisco, CA$160K–$250K/yrC++LinuxBacked by a16zStaff Firmware/Software Engineer - Embedded SoC/Microcontroller/DSP/SERDES/AEC/MicroLED/ODSP/PHY/AI Connectivity
MarvellSanta Clara, CA$111.1K–$166.4K/yrPythonEmbedded CSenior Firmware Engineer, NIC Firmware
NVIDIASanta Clara, Seattle +1Remote$152K–$287.5K/yrC++Python5+ yrsSr. Embedded Software Engineer
42dotSunnyvale$175K–$248K/yrC++RTOS7+ yrsSenior System Software Engineer, Platform - Server Embedded Firmware
NVIDIASanta Clara, CARemote$152K–$287.5K/yrC++RTOS5+ yrsSenior Systems Firmware Engineer - SBIOS, Bringup
NVIDIASanta Clara, CA$152K–$287.5K/yrPythonBash5+ yrsSenior Staff Embedded Software Testing Engineer
Lockheed MartinSunnyvale, Littleton +1On-site$166.9K–$344.4K/yrPythonC++Senior Embedded Engineer, MCU Firmware
UberSunnyvale, CA$180K–$200K/yrFreeRTOSC++No account needed7+ yrsSoftware Engineer, Linux Kernel (Starlink)
SpaceXPalo Alto, Bellevue +1$125K–$200K/yrC++No account needed2+ yrsStaff Embedded Software Test Engineer
Lockheed MartinSunnyvale, Littleton +1On-site$120.6K–$224K/yrPythonC++Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer
ZiplineSouth San Francisco, CA$160K–$250K/yrC++LinuxBacked by a16zSenior Software Engineer, Virtualization and Linux Kernel
NVIDIASanta Clara, CARemote$224K–$431.2K/yrRust12+ yrsPrincipal Embedded Firmware Engineer - Networking PAM4 DSP/ODSP/AEC/MicroLED
MarvellSanta Clara, CA$154.7K–$231.7K/yrPythonEmbedded CStaff Embedded Software Engineer - Avionics SW
ZiplineSouth San Francisco, CA$160K–$250K/yrLinuxC++Backed by a16zStaff Embedded Software Engineer
42dotSunnyvale$210K–$320K/yrRTOSC++10+ yrsStaff Firmware Engineer - Motors
ZiplineSouth San Francisco, CA$210K–$250K/yrC++RustBacked by a16zSystems Software Engineer - Infrastructure
NVIDIASanta Clara, CA$152K–$241.5K/yrpytestSQL5+ yrs
How these numbers are made
- Source: the yearly salary ranges employers publish in their own job postings, for roles RoleWeek lists as posted in the last 7 days. They are what employers advertise, not offers, not what people are paid, and not a market average. RoleWeek lists a share of all developer roles, and an employer decides whether to post a range at all.
- One role is one card: an opening listed for several places counts once on a page. A role listed in several cities counts on each city’s page.
- Bottom and top of each posted range are summarised separately: the median, and the 25th and 75th percentiles (half of the roles fall between them). A role that posts a single figure counts as both its bottom and its top.
- Yearly ranges only, in one currency per page: CA$ for the Canadian cities, $ for US cities and remote roles. Pay by the hour, day, week or month is never converted or mixed in.
- A page exists only when 15 or more roles list a yearly range; a level gets a row at 10. The numbers are rebuilt every day from the roles posted in the last 7 days.
The roles themselves: Embedded and firmware jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area (30 posted in the last 7 days). Every city and role type: developer salary ranges by city.